The pandemic has put a spotlight on the elderly, who are the most vulnerable to the virus. For many seniors, a trip to the grocery store can be life-threatening. People aged 65 to 74 are 90 times more likely to die from Covid and people over 65 make up eight out of ten Covid deaths.

The pandemic has worsened the already dire problem of elderly hunger in America. Before the pandemic there were an estimated 5.8 million hungry seniors nationwide. Since the onset of the pandemic in March that number is believed to have increased rapidly.

National statistics have not yet been compiled, but there are numbers for New York City. Prior to the pandemic, one in 10 older New Yorkers was food insecure, but now that number has soared to one in five, according to a study done by FoodBank NYC.